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How Online Black Markets Work

Posted by Soulskill on from the probably-better-than-most-real-markets-these-days dept.

CWmike writes "The internet is no stranger to crime, writes corporate investigator Brandon Gregg. From counterfeit and stolen products, to illegal drugs, stolen identities and weapons, nearly anything can be purchased online with a few clicks of the mouse. The online black market not only can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection, but the whole process of ordering illicit goods and services is alarmingly easy and anonymous, with multiple marketplaces to buy or sell anything you want. Gregg started with $1000 and a took journey into the darker side of the Internet using two tools: Bitcoin and the Tor Bundle."

5 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds like... by AlienIntelligence · · Score: 5, Informative

    Sounds like a reason to blow a grand on stuff you shouldn't,
    in the name of writing an article.

    Until you read the article and see it's a talk thru.

    Then you read the entire article and realize, it's not even a
    talk-thru, it's a talk-about. And not even a good one at that.
    There is really no info, except, get bitcoins, use Tor, find
    stuff.

    Wow. In depth reporting at its finest.

    -AI

    --
    For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion
    1. Re:Sounds like... by AlienIntelligence · · Score: 4, Informative

      What's worse, the one notable statement of what he could find:

      M9 Tactical handgun with an illegal silencer, unregistered of course.

      Is not an illegal weapon. Most states in the US, you can purchase
      an unregistered weapon from person to person. Further here in AZ,
      that is NOT an illegal silencer (unless you don't purchase the very
      cheap $200 license to own a silencer).

      So, basically, he told us about a http://www.gunbroker.com/ that
      takes bitcoins. Lol.

      Btw, $2000, your own Stargate PS90
      http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=284429588

      for those that shall troll me, yes... Stargate used P90's but unless
      you are a LEO... THOSE are illegal for commoners.

      Man I wish I had a spare 2 grand.

      -AI

      --
      For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion
    2. Re:Sounds like... by jsh1972 · · Score: 5, Informative

      I actually read something early this morning on the subject that named an online marketplace called Silk Road, only accessible through TOR, and all transactions use bit coin, so I went and checked it out... the main thing was drugs (weed, heroin, meth, cocaine, pharmaceuticals, the new designer drugs, hallucinogen, you get the idea)... there were also hacking tools, banned books (think meth manufacture)... I saw categories for art, currency, services, clothing, and many others. It's an anonymous international marketplace with an escrow service and buyer/seller ratings. I was actually quite impressed.

    3. Re:Sounds like... by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Informative

      Because in order for it to be a black market purchase, you must purchase something, that doesn't exist on the regular market.

      That's not true at all. Black market != market for illegal goods.

      Black market means that the trade is being conducted outside the legally operating market, not that the item(s) are illegal.

      Cigarettes are legal. Buying cigarettes, cash-only, tax-free off the back of a truck is a black market transaction.

      Black markets capture economic activity that is "priced out" of the official market due to constraints on trade (like manufacturing quotas, taxes, legal price floors or caps, etc).

      As the market he delved into was not an official market, and operated out of the purview of LE, taxing authorities, etc, it was the black market.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    4. Re:Sounds like... by srmalloy · · Score: 3, Informative

      Looking at that particular auction, that's the carbine version of the P90, semiauto and with an extended barrel to meet the barrel-length requirement, not the select-fire PDW used on the show. That variant was made so that it could be sold to civilians.